LOTTE LENYA COMPETITION Thursday, November 12, 1998 12:30 p.m. About the Competition The Lotte Lenya Singing Competition has been established by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music in honor of Kurt Weill's wife and foremost interpreter on the occasion of the centenary of her birth. The competition fosters excellence in the performance of music for the theater, in its broadest sense, including opera, operetta, and the American musical theater. While vocal technique and beauty of the vocal instrument will be relevant, criteria for adjudication will also include interpretation, acting, idiomatic performance practice, and stage presence. The competition is open to all students at the University of Rochester. Each contestant has prepared four selections, including one from the operatic repertoire, a selection from the American musical theater, and two pieces by Weill; at least one selection must be in German. Cash awards will total $5,000, and the winner(s) will be featured in a recital on Saturday, November 14, at 2 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. Judges for the Competition Teresa Stratas is the foremost operatic performer of her generation. In a career spanning four decades, she has sung more than 50 roles, in six languages, at virtually every major opera house in the world. She has made more than two dozen opera films, won three Grammy awards, an Emmy, a Gemini, a Drama Desk Award, a Tony nomination, and an Academy Award citation. After hearing Stratas sing Jenny in Mahagonny at the Met, Lenyadeclared her Weill's "dream Jenny": "Teresa, here is my crown. I give it to you now. You are the one, so you carry on." Stratas has recorded Die sieben Todsunden, The Unknown Kurt Weill, and Stratas Sings Weill. Julius Rudel emigrated from his native Austria in 1938, made his debut with City Opera in 1944, and became its Director in 1957, serving in that capacity until 1979. He has championed Weill's music for four decades, producing and conducting at City Opera Street Scene, Lost in the Stars, Die Dreigroschenoper, and Silverlake. He has recorded Lost in the Stars as well as the Second Symphony, and he has agreed to conduct the American premiere of Die Burgschaft at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston next May. He served as musical director of the Broadway Threepenny Opera starring Sting and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. Mark Cuddy is Artistic Director of Geva Theatre in Rochester. During his four seasons in that post, he has initiatedcollaborations with both the Rochester Philharmonic and the Garth Fagan Dancers. At the Sacramento Theatre Company, he produced 65 plays and directed 22 productions. In 1995 he was named "Professional Artist of the Year" by the California Educational Theatre Association. He also served as producing director of the Idaho Shakespeare , Festival and worked on the directorial staff of the Denver Center Theater Company. His directorial experience has ranged from Sophoclesto Shepard. Geva' s 1998-99 season will climax with My Fair Lady. LOTTE LENYA COMPETITION Thursday, November 12, 1998 12:30 p.m. Kilbourn Hall (selections may not be sung in the order listed) 12:30 Elizabeth McDonald, soprano from the studio of William McIver Sonia Kim, piano Piangero, la sorte mia (Giulio Cesare} Handel Brack Weaver, my true love (Down in the Valley) Weill Berlin im Licht-Song (Weill) Weill That'll Show Him (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) Sondheim 12:45 Tam. Pettycmezzc-soprano from the studio of Carol Webber John Greer, piano Il vecchiotto cerca moglie (II Barbiere di Siviglia) Rossini Ballade von Rauber Esteban (Der Kuhhandel) Weill Mr. Right (Love Life) Weill What a Movie! (Trouble in Tahiti) Bernstein 1:00 Teresa Winner, soprano from the studio of Carol Webber Jennifer Undercofler, pianist Norina's Cavatina and Aria (Don Pasquale) Donizetti Ich bin eine arme Verwandte (Der Silbersee) Weill The Saga of Jenny (Lady in the Dark) Weill How Could I Know? (The Secret Garden) Simon & Norman 1:15 Lauren Pastorek, mezzo-soprano from the studio of Carol Webber Jennifer Undercofler, piano Chacun a son gout (Die Fledermaus) Strauss What Good Would the Moon Be? (Street Scene) Weill I'm a Stranger Here Myself (One Touch of Venus) Weill What More Do INeed? (Marry Me A Little) Sondheim 1:30 Heidi Bieber, soprano from the studio of John Maloy Alexandra Nguyen, piano When Iam Laid (Dido and Aeneas) Purcell Seerauber Jenny (Die Dreigroschenoper) Weill Der Abschiedsbrief (Kastner) Weill Iam Easily Assimilated (Candide) Bernstein 1:45 Elisa Cordova, soprano from the studio of Robert McIver Melody Fader, piano The Jewel Song (Faust) Gounod Zuhalterballade (Die Dreigroschenoper) Weill What Good Would the Moon Be? (Street Scene) Weill IFeel Pretty (West Side Story) Bernstein 2:00 Rachel Albert, mezzo-soprano from the studio of Dale Moore Rose Grace, piano Non so piu cosa son (La Nozze di Figaro) Mozart Dennwie man sich bettet (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny) Weill Je ne t'aime pas (Magre) Weill I'm a Little Bit in Love (Wonderful Town) Bernstein 2:15 Natalie C. Lerch, soprano from the studio of William McIver Anat Paul, piano Prendi per me sei libero (L 'elisir d'amore) Donizetti What Good Would the Moon Be? (Street Scene) Weill Es Regnet (Cocteau) Weill Green Finch and Linnet Bird (Sweeney Todd) Sondheim 3:00 Leah Arington, soprano from the studio of Carol Webber Jerry Lee, piano Nina's Aria (The Seagull) Pastieri Seerauber Jenny (Die Dreigroschenoper) Weill The Princess of Pure Delight (Lady in the Dark) Weill Adelaide's Lament (Guys and Dolls) Loesser 3:15 Danielle Frink, soprano from the studio of Masako Toribara Shu-chuan Cheng, piano Depuis le jour (Louise) Charpentier What Good Would the Moon Be? (Street Scene) Weill Nanna's Lied (Brecht) Weill All the Things You Are (Very Warm for May) Kern 3:30 Brian Mulligan, baritone from the studio of Dale Moore Sharon Nomi, piano Vedri mentiro so spiro (Le Nozze di Figaro) Mozart Ballade vom angenehmen Leben (Die Dreigroschenoper) Weill Come up from the Fields, Father Weill Soliloquy (Carousel) Rodger 3:45 Megan Loomis, soprano from the studio of Rita Shane Beryl Garver, piano The Tipsy Waltz (La Perichole) Offenbach Stay Well (Lost in the Stars) Weill Klops Lied (trad. text) Weill Vanilla Ice Cream (She Loves Me) Bock 4:00 Katia Escalera, mezzo-soprano from the studio of William McIver Charlene Biggs, piano Pres des remparts de Seville (Carmen) Bizet Nanna's Lied (Brecht) Weill I'm a Stranger Here Myself (One Touch a/Venus) Weill I Dreamed a Dream (Les Miserables) C-M. Schoenberg 4:15 Meshell Dillon, soprano from the studio of Rita Shane Melody Law, piano Bester Jtingling (Impresario) Mozart What Good Would the Moon Be? (Street Scene) Weill That's Him (One Touch of Venus) Weill If! Loved You (Carousel) Rodgers 4:30 Rebecca Comerford, mezzo-soprano from the studio of John Maloy Gianine Burgo, piano Sposa son disprezzata (II Bajazet) Vivaldi Sie solI sein wie ein Netz (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny Weill Wie lange noch? (Mehring) Weill Much More (Fantasticks) Harvey & Schmidt 4:45 Laura Nowlin, soprano from the studio of Carol Webber Tracy Cowden, piano Durch Zartlichkeit und Schmeicheln (Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serai!) Mozart What Good Would the Moon Be? (Street Scene) Weill youkali (Femay) Weill Green Finch and Linnet Bird (Sweeney Todd) Sondheim 5:00 Todd Queen, tenor from the studio of John Maloy Sharon Nomi, piano Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schon (Die Zauberflote) Mozart Lonely House (Street Scene) Weill Dirge for Two Veterans (Whitman) Weill On the Street Where You Live (My Fair Lady) Lerner & Lowe Don't miss the Winners' Recital Saturday, November 14, 1998 2:00pm Kilbourn Hall Free Admission.